Far From the Tree
by LittleMissBookJunkie
Summary: Whilst mulling over all the madness that happened after his escape from the Pentagon, Erik has a sudden terrible, brilliant realisation. Halfway across the world, Lorna's travels are interrupted by an unexpected surprise. And Peter has to face the most dark forces known to mutant and mankind alike: an angry Wanda. Post-DOFP; pre-Apocalypse. Dadneto. Lorna Dane/Alex Summers.
1. Prologue

_"_ _My mom knew a guy who could do that…"_

The words were gears churning in his mind, over and over and over. Inescapable. He rolled them around his tongue, at first with the fleeting curiosity of mild intrigue, as though he had happened upon an unexpected puzzle. Then, as he pondered further, his thoughts began to darken, like the shadows of a drawing day descending to night. He was at the brink of clarity, but denial was stopping him from falling over the edge.

 _Maximoff. Maximoff. Maximoff._

He couldn't be… could he?

Erik sighed. It was with a deep sense of regret that Erik came to the conclusion he needed to see Charles. He had a horrible feeling that he and Peter had a bit more in common than the X-gene.

 **A/N**

 **So, I haven't posted in many moons and I probably won't be updating Sparks anytime soon. Sorry. Though I do prescribe to JB's philosophy - "never say never" ;) Basically, I really love Dadneto and there aren't enough fics out there to satisfy my all-consuming need for Dadneto fics and decided to write one myself. I hope you guys like it. Hopefully there will be much more to come.**


	2. 1 A Horrible Suspicion

**1\. Paris, 1973. A month since DOFP.**

Lorna was afraid. For the last 11 years of her life, her periods had been regular and efficient, like a well-oiled clock. Sure, they'd been a hellish clock, but they'd been stable. Reliable. One of the few solid things life had ever given her. And yet, the impossible had seemingly happened. She was late.

Lorna was a sensible girl, despite her confusing childhood. At 11 years of age, she was brought to the sudden realisation that the man that had raised her, albeit begrudgingly, was not the man with whom she shared half her genes. Her father was not her father. He'd told her himself, spat bitter words in her face on that horrible day, the day when it first happened.

 _"_ _I knew it, Susanna. I knew it! She's a freak, just like him."_

 _"_ _Just like who?"_

 _"_ _Let's just say, kid, you're no child of mine."_

She'd been feeling moodier than normal as of late and when Jimmy, the man she'd spent half her life believing to be her flesh and blood, had snapped at her as he usually did for not reaching his typical standards of perfection, she had snapped right back. Only not with words. The house had shaken with quaking metal, much to her terror, and her hair grew a shocking green from the roots. Her first period started the very next day.

How she had hated her hair. She had been so disgusted with the new colour at first that she shaved it all off, but it was no use. It was stuck a startling shade of electric green. The colour that people had always admired in her eyes was a cause for alarm in the form of her hair. To this day, she still dyed it brown, though the roots grew so fast, it was a weekly struggle. Throughout her teens, she would improvise with hats and hairbands, wigs and bows and clips. Aged 17, she had stood in front of the mirror and sliced it all off to her chin in a fit of anger.

Now it was shoulder length, she hadn't cut in over a month and though she'd dyed it only a few days ago, the roots were already showing. She wondered if stress had something to do with it. She had a horrible inkling as to why her period would be late, but she didn't want to accept it. If that was the reason, then it was too soon to know anyway. The last time she had done anything that could risk its happening was only a month ago, a few days after her last period. She remembered the night with relish.

Lorna was a hard-worker, responsible and intelligent, she'd been top of her class in high school, a combination of popular and edgy that saved from being teased and gave her an aura of mystery that allowed for an element of privacy that would have otherwise been unachievable at the small-town school. She had graduated a year early and received a generous scholarship to study at Yale. She worked two jobs, saving up to make up the remainder. After graduating with a major in English and a minor in French, she went abroad to teach English in Paris. During her time off, she would travel, taking trains to places that were wonderfully foreign and European and so different to everything she'd ever known growing up in the Dane household.

It was during a weekend trip to Amsterdam when she met him. She and her friend Jane, her British roommate who was there to teach English too, had never been before and were excited to see all the sights, to explore a new city. They'd got drunk on the last night and gone out and that's when they ran into them. A group of American soldiers who were caught between travels, having flown back from Vietnam and were having a spot of fun before getting back to America. They'd all been fairly young, reserved. She had caught his eye and been unable to look away from that bright blue gaze. It was electrifying.

She sighed and hoped that her suspicions weren't true, all the while cursing herself for choosing to let her hair down quite so much that night.

 **A/N**

 **I'll be posting more soon! I'm not so good with schedules, so I'll update whenever I have something :)**

 **Lorna is 22. Her mother is Susanna Dane and her stepdad is an OC/douche called Jimmy.**


	3. 2 An Unwelcome Visitor

**Westchester, 1973. Two weeks since DOFP.**

"So Charles, I see you're starting up this school of yours again."

Hank jumped but Charles just rolled his eyes. It appeared he had sensed his presence.

"What are you doing here, Erik? You know you aren't welcome here."

Hank let out a beastly growl, "Damn right he isn't. After the shit he pulled in DC? How could you even let him in, Charles?"

"I wasn't going to but, then I caught his line of thinking and now I must say I'm intrigued."

"What did I say about staying out of my head, old friend?" Erik grumbled.

Charles rolled his eyes again, "Please, Erik. You lost that privilege a long time ago along with my respect. But still, we were friends once. Once again you disappointed me at DC, but I've come to expect that of you. But do please tell, why is it you want to find Peter Maximoff of all people?"

Surprise unfurled over Hank's face whilst Erik shrugged, nonchalant, "Just to say thank you for getting me out of that hellhole, I suppose. I'm nothing if not gracious."

Charles snorted, "Do you really think me that naïve, Erik? I know you think I'm an idealist, but an idiot?"

"You're an idiot because you're an idealist, Charles. But that's besides the point. I need to find the boy and the reason why is a private matter. And by private, I mean none of your business, something you've always struggled to comprehend, old friend."

Charles frowned, "He's a minor, Erik, and you wouldn't know him if it wasn't for my putting him in that position in the first place, so I rather believe it is my business to know why you want to seek him out. You're a wanted criminal, Erik. It's my responsibility to make sure he isn't put in danger again because of you."

"Let's just say, he said something to me that makes me think I knew his mother. I want to, no, I need to know if I did or not," Erik sighed and raked his hand through his hair.

"Are you trying to imply what I think you're trying to imply…?" Hank said, slowly, tiptoeing around the sudden appearance of a large Peter-shaped elephant in the room.

Charles looked equally concerned, "What do you mean, Erik? Speak plainly, we have a school to rebuild and we don't have time for this."

"You really want me to spell it out for you? Fine. I think the boy may be mine and I want confirmation of this. I don't really see the need for any more details than that."

"Jesus Erik, on top of the long list of awful things you've done, now you can add absentee parent to that?" Hank glowered.

Erik glared in response, "You think I wouldn't have been there for him if I had known?"

"I think it's strange we didn't think that this could be a possibility sooner. I mean, you're the most irresponsible person we know, so yeah, why not have some accidental kids along the way?"

"Accidental _kid_ ," Erik corrected. "And technically speaking, if his mother is who I think she is, then he wasn't that much out of an accident."

Hank and Charles looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to finish his line of thought.

Erik sighed again before grumbling, "You'll be surprised to know I was once married, McCoy. I haven't seen his mother in just over 17 years."

Charles breathed in sharply, "Ah. And Peter is 17. I see now why you want to seek him out."

"So the penny is finally dropping, old friend?"


	4. 3 A Confrontation

**During Days of Future Past; Erik was just on the news. 1973.**

His twin was nothing if not calculated. She waited until they were downstairs in what was meant to be their den, but had now become an enablement of his kleptomaniac ways. In other words, she had waited until they were alone.

"Aunty M told me everything, Peter, so don't even try and lie to me."

"I mean, I doubt she told you _everything_ , like, as in, I don't know, the history of everything ever. She didn't tell you all of that, did she? I mean, I know Aunty M is smart and all-"

Wanda cut off his gushing, her hazel eyes taking on a red glow as her hair crackled with energy and her light gathered at her fingers.

"What the fuck, Peter?! How could you do something so stupid? First, you break into the Pentagon for some weirdos you've never met before. Then the guy you broke out turns out to be a terrorist? How the fuck could you do something so stupid, Peter?!"

"I'm sorry, sis, really, won't ever do it again, nope, never, really, so, so, so sorr-"

She flung a ball of red energy at his head, causing him to duck, and promptly shutting him up.

"That's what you always say, Peter, and you always lie. But this time it's serious. I can't lose you, okay? That's why me and Aunty M get so upset with you. Who knows what the government would do if they got their claws in us, but we know it won't be good. You saw those sentinel things they were cooking up. You need to grow up, Peter. We're almost 18, for crying out-loud."

Peter rolled his eyes, but looked mollified all the same.

"Sorry, sis," He said slowly, sincerely. "Really, I am."

She let out a long breath before sighing and giving him a quick hard hug before letting go and pushing him away roughly, smacking him on the arm in warning. "No more bullshit, okay? You're gonna give Aunty M a heart-attack or an aneurism or something. Seriously Petey, you saw her face when she saw him on TV and realised who it was you broke out of prison."

"I know, it just made me wonder…" Peter drifted off.

"Wonder what?" Wanda quirked a brow.

He sighed. Wanda had always been under the impression that their mysterious long-lost father was not someone she had any interest in finding and getting to know. She reserved her love for those around her, not for those that weren't. Aunty M, Peter and little Lila were the only receivers of this tough love.

"Nothing, sis. I was just wondering when dinner was," He grinned and she sighed, "You and your stomach, I swear to god," before storming off to read bad poetry or whatever it was she did when she wasn't basking in his awesome presence.


End file.
